DUBAI, March 5 (Reuters) - Egypt is discussing the setting up of a sovereign wealth fund to manage state companies as it plans to list them on the stock exchange, the country’s minister for public enterprise, Khaled Badawi, said on Monday.

The idea of the fund is being discussed internally and is in its early stages, he told a conference in Dubai.

Egypt is looking to offer shares in eight to 10 state companies on the stock exchange over the next 18 months, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy told Reuters in January, as part of a drive to attract foreign investors. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Katie Paul; Writing by Saeed Azhar)